Student Profile: Matthieu Talpe

Like many, Matthieu Talpe became inspired to delve into the world of space and astronomy upon reading the philosophical musings of astronomer Carl Sagan. While working on his undergraduate and masters studies in Planetary Sciences at MIT, Matt cast his scientific gaze afar to deciphering the secrets of other planets in our solar system. However, for his Ph.D. work, Matt has turned his focus back towards planet Earth. Using data obtained from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), Matt is able to map slight variations in Earth’s gravity field caused by movements of mass (such as water and land ice) across Earth’s surface. By analyzing this mass movement, it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of the changes in land ice distribution that the planet is experiencing.

Reflecting on the value of studying the Earth, Matt explains: “Techniques that one applies to Earth one can apply to other planets. A lot of planetary scientists have a background in Earth... because Earth has so much data, you really have to dig deep to make a difference.”

A defining feature of Matt’s academic experiences is his desire to mesh the often distinctly viewed worlds of science and engineering. On the one hand, Matt feels that: “I don’t want to get away from science because understanding the natural world and seeing a story from data is invaluable.” On the other, Matt wants to remain connected to the engineering community because he believes that “there is a certain mindset that is associated with engineering techniques that, as a student, I want to have available to apply to my scientific inquiries.” Fortunately, the CU’s graduate focus area in astrodynamics has enabled Matt to seamlessly blend these two aspects of aerospace, leaving him to conclude that, “I’ve never felt such a sense of belonging as I do in the program at CU.”

While generating research is a critical aspect of Matt’s experience in the sciences, he believes that being able to communicate his research to others is as, or more, important. Last year, Matt delivered a talk at the CU TEDx event regarding his Ph.D. research. To Matt, “the skills you develop in the process [of TEDx] are completely relevant”, such as the ability to convey complex ideas in simple terms. This year, Matt sought to give back to the TEDx community by providing insight and feedback to the speakers as they prepared their speeches.  Not only does Matt believe that “it’s an offense to common sense” when engineers don’t value communication, but he feels “offended as a human being when someone can’t communicate because they can’t put themselves in someone else’s shoes.”

Matt will continue to blend engineering, the sciences and communication as he prepares to spend his upcoming fourth year of his Ph.D. in Munich, Germany.

-Written By: Ari Sandberg, Intern